In The Balance

The Joint Strike Fighter alternate engine program is not on the ballot, but its future may hang in the balance of today's midterm election results. If predictions of a Republican surge and takeover of the House come to pass, the political exigencies of the moment -- in particular, pressure to reduce federal spending -- could make it difficult for lawmakers who for the last five years have added money to the budget for the F136 program in the name of sound public policy to continue to do so.

Should control of the House flip, it will likely be many weeks before Congress sorts out how it will proceed with stalled fiscal year 2011 appropriations and authorization bills. Meantime, under a stopgap funding measure the Pentagon is permitting the F136 program to continue development by utilizing carryover fiscal year 2010 funds, a sum that will keep the effort going until early December.

In the event Congress enacts another continuing resolution to fund government operations beyond Dec. 3, the F136 program is in trouble. Under rules issued by Jeffrey Zients, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Defense Secretary Robert Gates -- who is leading the effort to kill the F136 program -- can unilaterally turn off funding for the F136 because it did not receive support in all four proposals of the FY-11 defense bill proposed by congressional panels that oversee military spending. In a Sept. 30 bulletin to federal department heads, OMB explains:

If either the House or Senate has reported or passed a bill that provides no funding for an account at the time the CR is enacted, the CR automatic apportionment does not apply to the account. Instead, you must submit a written apportionment request to OMB if you want to request funds for the account during the period of the CR. OMB will apportion funds in such a manner as not to impinge on the final funding prerogatives of Congress.